Note from Peter on the Coronavirus

Note from Peter on the Coronavirus

News of the Coronavirus has us all concerned, and I suspect you’re worried about what’s going to happen as the disease spreads just like I am. It’s easy to become fearful and to panic in moments like this. How are we to respond as Christians, and what would God have us do?

On Thursday I read something Ron Hutchcraft wrote which I found very helpful. Ron says that some are calling the Coronavirus a pandemic, which means it’s everywhere. But beyond any medical pandemic, there is usually another pandemic which is equally challenging. It is fear. Ron said he was with some mission leaders from around the world recently, and they essentially summed up what was going on this way: “The foundations of the earth are being shaken” (Ps. 82:5). So many people. So many places. So many unknowns and possibilities. And so much fear.

Precaution is good, but panic and paralysis aren’t. We all feel vulnerable, and it’s more than a feeling. We really are. Think about what happens when there is a power outage, or a tornado like the ones that recently hit Nashville. And then there is the threat of a cyberattack that looms over our world these days. There is a lot to be afraid of. But remember, one of the most often repeated commands in Scripture is, “Fear not.” In Psalm 11 we read, “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” And it goes on to answer, “The Lord is in His holy temple. The Lord is on His heavenly throne” (Ps. 11:3-4). In other words, remember that when everything feels like it’s out of control, God is still in control. And Isaiah 43 says, “Do not fear…when you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you…for I am the Lord your God…I love you”.

In Romans 8, the apostle Paul says that there is nothing that is able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our lord. That is our anchor in times of crisis. It is a relationship that is disease-proof, disaster-proof, and death-proof. God will be with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He will carry us through. Ron closed his article by telling the story of a woman and her daughter. It seems that several years ago there were monster tornadoes in Oklahoma, and he read about a woman and her daughter who barely got the door on their safe room closed in time. A couple hours later they went outside to find their neighborhood gone. Their house was gone too. They lost a lot that day. But they were okay because they had one place that could survive the storm. Friends, there is one safe place we can find in all the storms of our lives, and His name is Jesus. Look to Him to carry you though. Jesus is called Savior for a reason.